Italian Navy amphibious ship ITS San Marco has become a flagship of the EUNAVFOR Med operation Sophia Task Force. San Marco has replaced landing platform dock (LPD) San Giusto which completed six months of deployment in the operation, from February 1 to August 1, 2018. This was the vessel’s second involvement in SOPHIA Task Force. Since her […] Read more

The Spanish Navy commissioned its fifth Buque de Acción Marítima (BAM) ship in a ceremony in San Fernando on July 27. The ceremony was chaired by Ángel Olivares Ramírez, Secretary of State for Defense, with the head of the Spanish Navy (AJEMA), Admiral General Teodoro López Calderón, and other government and shipbuilder officials in attendance. BAM Audaz […] Read more

US Navy’s Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) has embarked an Italian AV-8B Harrier jet as it sails home from a deployment to Europe and Middle East. The jet and its crew landed on July 18 and will later cross the Atlantic Ocean with the sailors and marines aboard the Iwo Jima. […] Read more

The Spanish Navy’s new air-independent propulsion (AIP) S-80 submarines are facing another delay, according to the country’s defense minister. During a visit to the Cartagena naval base, where the submarines will be based after delivery, defense minister Margarita Robles told reporters that the first boat would be delivered in 2022 with the final one arriving […] Read more

The French Navy commissioned its second Loire-class offshore support and assistance multipurpose vessel – BSAH Rhone – in a ceremony on July 6. Rhone entered service after being launched by the Kership joint venture in Concarneau, north-western France, in November 2017, and completing all trials off Brest. The commissioning of BSAH Rhone was announced at […] Read more

French shipbuilder Naval Group has delivered the fifth FREMM multi-mission frigate, FS Bretagne, to the French Navy. Bretagne was handed over to the French Government Defense procurement and technology agency (DGA) on July 18, nine months after it concluded its first trials. The anti-submarine warfare configured frigate started construction in October 2013, launched in September […] Read more

Spanish Navy’s Galicia-class landing platform dock ESPS Castilla got underway from her homeport at Rota Naval Base on July 19 to join the counter-piracy operation Atalanta off the Horn of Africa. ESPS Castilla will operate two SH-60 helicopters from the 10th aircraft squadron during the deployment and host a Marine Corps security squad and a […] Read more

Belgian Navy command and support ship BNS Godetia assumed the role of NATO Standing Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG1) flagship on July 22, taking over from Dutch submarine support ship HNLMS Mercuur (A900). Despite having 780,000 nautical miles on the clock, Godetia brings a wealth of capabilities to the group. The ship will contribute to the […] Read more

Mistral-class amphibious assault ship Dixmude and La Fayette-class frigate FS Surcouf wrapped up the French Navy’s annual Jeanne D’Arc mission returning to naval base Toulon on July 19. The two ships got underway in late February and sailed a total of 26,500 nautical miles over a period of 145 days. In addition to French Gazelle and Alouette helicopters, […] Read more

A fire broke out late Sunday aboard the logistic support ship Vulcano which is under construction at Fincantieri’s Mugiano shipyard in La Spezia. According to Italian media reports, the fire broke out around 22:30, local time, and originated in the ship’s engine room. The Italian National Firefighters Corps on Monday said the fire had been brought […] Read more

The Portuguese Navy’s newest Viana do Castelo-class offshore patrol vessel – the NRP Sines – was commissioned in a ceremony at the West Sea Shipyards on July 20. NRP Sines enters service after being launched in May 2017 and completing sea trials a year later, in late May 2018. Portuguese prime minister António Costa, who was the […] Read more

Spanish news site El Pais on Tuesday ran a report which said the Spanish Navy’s elongated new S-80 submarines were now too long fit into their designated pens at the naval base Cartagena. The report says that, in addition to the submarines being over budget and late, the MoD would now have to invest some […] Read more

Spanish Navy F100 frigate Álvaro de Bazán (F-101) has returned to the Ferrol Naval Base following a three-month deployment to NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 1. During her deployment, Álvaro de Bazán sailed more than 16,000 nautical miles and visited seven countries. In mid-April, the frigate set sail for northern waters of Scotland to join the SNMG1 […] Read more

Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer HMS Duncan returned to her homeport in Portsmouth after six months of operations as flagship of NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2). During her time at the helm of SNMG2, Duncan led an international group of frigates, destroyers and patrol ships on operations in the Mediterranean, Aegean and Black Sea. […] Read more

The Turkish Navy will be receiving a new replenishment vessel under a contract announced by Turkey’s Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (SSM) on July 12. The vessel will be built by Sefine Shipyard with design and engineering services provided by Istanbul-based SEFT Ship Design. Financial details of the contract were not revealed. According to the shipbuilder, […] Read more

Several North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) states intend to combine maritime munition purchases in order to achieve economies of scale. Belgium, France, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Spain signed a Letter of Intent on Multinational Cooperation for the Provision of Maritime Battle Decisive Munitions (MBDM) in Brussels during the NATO Summit held from July 11 […] Read more

The Romanian Navy has deployed a frigate and a minesweeper to join two separate NATO maritime groups for operations in the Black Sea. Frigate ROS Regele Ferdinand and Musca-class minesweeper Lt. Lupu Dinescu got underway from the naval base in Constanta on July 11 and will spend the rest of the month deployed with the NATO groups. […] Read more

US Navy aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) completed a weeklong joint exercise known as French Air Defense week on July 6 and is continuing its deployment in the Atlantic. The exercise saw aircraft from Carrier Air Wing One (CVW-1) conducting integrated flight operations with French Naval Aviation aircraft. CVW-1 pilots and their […] Read more

Pakistan has entered into an agreement with Turkey for the construction of four MILGEM corvettes, Turkey’s defense minister Nurettin Canikli told reporters in Montenegro on Thursday. According to Turkish media reports, Turkey will be building the corvettes in what the defense minister described as the “largest defense export of Turkey in one agreement”. The first […] Read more

US Navy aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman has departed the Mediterranean Sea after three months of operations and is currently working with the French Air Force in The Atlantic Ocean. From July 2 to 6, embarked aircraft from Carrier Air Wing One (CVW-1) are conducting integrated flight operations with French Naval Aviation aircraft as […] Read more